CHAPTER 1
Getting on the Same Page: Efficient Internal Communication + Project Management

Technology is a tool, a collaborator, that supports business operations in a significant but subtle way. While it would be wonderful to simply add on a technology to the workplace and have it magically solve our problems, that is rarely the case. Yet, when intentionally selected and implemented, technologies in the workplace have proven time and again that they can save time and headaches, therefore increasing the impact of our work.

In our experience as artists, freelancers, and arts administrators, the technology we use has often saved the day, but to be honest, it has also sometimes created massive headaches. This chapter will share our experiences as well as those of several theater, dance, and music companies. These success stories of creating and using institutional systems will reveal how they decrease "one more dead-end email chain" and increase clarity of purpose, priorities, and workflows.

The chapter begins with the frameworks of how our work systems and environments have changed over the years before we dive into knowledge management and how to increase institutional memory, efficiency, and job satisfaction day to day. The arts are a people business, so we'll also discuss how we can create better models for communication. The technology solutions that we'll investigate are software-as-a-service (SaaS) models for workflow management. None of this works independently or is adopted without intention and training. The chapter wraps up with how to best train and maintain these systems in a world that is ever-changing.

Times Change, but How Do We?

Running arts organizations or pursuing artistic careers is far more complicated than most people think. Brett often equates it to running a start-up with a constantly changing product. But technology can help with the overall management of your creative enterprise. An early technology adopter, Brett began creating systems for documents and contracts in her first job in a three-person off-Broadway theater in the year 1992. This was the age of 3.5? computer discs that you inserted into a computer because the memory inside the computer was tiny and mostly used for processing. Of the three employees, only two were comfortable with computers. The artistic director was not, but he supported the time it took to implement the tiny system and liked that things could get done efficiently.

In a three-person organization, space was limited: a theater and a small office. While there were production meetings, staff "meetings" were more often conversations around morning coffee. The ease of communication was simple and production focused. Three brains, lots of three-ring notebooks, file cabinets, and one computer with 3.5? discs served as the knowledge system. It was fun but highly inefficient, with a lot of running up and down the stairs to the theater.

By 2006, Brett was the managing director for Imagination Stage, and the world had changed with respect to the technology available. But the systems that existed were happenstance. A system of shared knowledge of what goes where, how to communicate clearly, and how to prioritize still had to be created, communicated, and used. The company was also much bigger, with 52 full-time and 275 part-time artists, teaching artists, and over hire. Email predominated communication, and shared file folders on a server were common.

But problems existed. Younger staff had no sense of what the priorities were, especially which email needed the first response. Seniority, not mission or impact, often determined who had access for space. Eventually, a new software tool for space management provided a decision tree and transparency-40,000 square feet, seven classrooms, two theaters, and various other public spaces require coordination for facility management and maintenance. Additionally, the staff created a company-wide agreement for communication protocols (email priority systems, calendar appointments instead of email chains for meetings, etc.).

When Paul was the marketing director for a midsized dance company, communication about projects, workflow, and related responsibilities was not consistent. Even with an administrative staff of four, there was no system in place for sharing of internal information, which often led to duplicated work and missed opportunities. And often the first email in a chain was responded to instead of someone reading the entire chain on a given topic, wasting more precious time. Each staff member was great at what they did in their respective areas, but the lack of an organized system created more work and harmed efficiencies.

It is hopefully becoming clear that creating ecosystems of technology can make work easier but that doing so requires more than a standard, top-down approach. Senior and junior employees need buy-in and training. Any adopted technology solution will have to adapt over time. Hence, you will find ample explanations of not only useful tech solutions, but also conversations around how the employees are trained, how systems are created, and how the habits of work are changed, also known as change management.

It cannot go without saying that the global pandemic and lockdown had an immense impact on the way we all work. However, the need for clear and efficient internal operations existed prior to the pandemic. The only critical change noted over and over again in interviews was the need to rely on cloud-based solutions.i The organizations and individuals succeeded before, during, and after the pandemic because of clear and clean systems that could expand and contract as workflows changed.

Moving out of lockdown into the current day, hybrid and remote work continues to be a recognized and often successful solution for many organizations. But even if your organization has returned to 100 percent in-office, creating internal systems of knowledge sharing, communication, and workflow will undoubtedly contribute to greater success. The overarching system or technology framework has to facilitate person-to-person and team-to-team processes. And, most importantly, it must support the mission or purpose of the work overall.

How Knowledge Systems Create Success

Systems allow for work to proceed with ease. If an employee knows where to find a file, how to get the answer they need, or what the top priorities of their day are, work flows efficiently and effectively. The problem is that most organizations and individual businesses create "accidental" systems. These systems are created to serve the person who created them, with little thought to how they connect to the rest of the operations of the organization or fellow employees. We all know when something takes longer than it should, but it is rare that time is spent trying to fix the cause ("No one codified where to put the files in the drive"); rather, we often fix the system ("I'll put my work where I need it over here").

This is not a technology-based problem. When we had a world of documents, file folders, memos, and sticky notes, how the filing system was created was usually driven by one person in the organization. People who needed a file repeatedly would keep it (or a copy of it) on their desk. These breaks in the paper system would leave people looking for files, or lead to confusing the version history of a document ("How do you have the newest document-the file folder says the last one was edited on X date?").

It is also important to note that knowledge management has been a part of business structure for centuries, most often managed and transferred through a process of coworking and training. Small business owners would pass their knowledge on to the next generation through lived experience. Those working in trades would pass their knowledge through apprenticeship.

It wasn't until the 1990s that CEOs started talking about knowledge management-perhaps because the media and the web encouraged a new language for discussing the work of a new knowledge economy. According to Harvard Business Review, there are two approaches to knowledge management. When knowledge is managed in computer systems, it is a "codified" strategy. The second leans on the person-to-person transfer of knowledge, which if intentionally done is a "personalization" strategy. Choosing between the two is a choice and a strategy for a business. If a business wants to grow, codification is the right choice:

The codification strategy opens up the possibility of achieving scale in knowledge reuse and thus of growing the business.1

So what does it mean to codify your knowledge? In simple terms, it is a way of breaking down information (often stored in files or folders) into a transparent system that all the appropriate users can access to do their work and achieve their goals. For performing artists and organizations, often our collective shared knowledge exists in "siloes" tied to performances or shows. The following is a way of thinking about materials:

• Materials that will be reused by many people, teams, or departments.
  • Materials should be centrally located for all access (e.g., an employee handbook) or by department (e.g., a marketing style guide or logos).
  • Consider whether the materials will need to be...